Monday, May 13, 2013

The Liars' Gospel

Review by Ada Brunstein

"It
is important to quiet the lamb, that is the first thing." So begins Naomi
Alder­man's The Liars' Gospel, a fictional account of Jesus' life set against
the backdrop of the Jews' struggles against Roman rule.

Alderman gives us four
points of view, or gospels, on the life of Yehoshuah (Jesus), focusing mainly on
the time between his departure from home and his death. We hear from his mother,
Miryam (Mary), who laments her son's departure and has trouble accepting him in
his new role as a “teacher.”

We hear from his follower, confidant, and later his
betrayer, Iehuda (Judas), one of the most compelling characters in this story.
It is through Iehuda's eyes that we see Yehoshuah evolve from a man who has
gathered a few supporters through his messages of forgive­ness and healing, to a
man who is leading a movement of thousands of followers. Through Iehuda we see
how Yehoshuah loses his way gradually, in small missteps, veering incrementally
farther away from the messages he started his teachings with and into a more
self-serving role.

We hear from the high priest, Caiaphas, whose life's
work was to maintain the precari­ous balance between the desires of the Jews and
the demands of the Romans.

And finally we hear from a young Jewish rebel, Bar-Avo
(Barabbas), in whose hands lies the fate of the Jewish people at the time.